Turning your old file cabinet into a garage storage favorite

If you were to ever come to my house you would quickly realize that out of all the rooms in my house, my garage is the land that time, space and attention forgot. I know where my tools are, but the rest of it is one big Bermuda Triangle of supplies. (i.e.: We have birdseed. We don’t own birds, a bird bath or a bird feeder. You get the idea..) I can’t tell you how many duplicates we have of very basic things simply because they have been put back here-and-there ish. ONE DAY I was going to organize it all. (Sort of like ONE DAY I’ll start exercising..)

A couple of weeks ago, fate intervened in the form of HGTV, who contacted me to ask if I would contribute to a feature in which an everyday object is repurposed and used in a garage. After the smelling salts wore off, I fired up every last working brain cell (took some doing, I’ve worked with a lot of toxic fumes) and came up with and idea built around this baby:

Oh yes, she's a beaut...

Impressive, right? Yes, we own this cabinet. It was holding super important warranties for appliances we haven’t owned since I was a natural blonde. In other words, it was the perfect candidate for a makeover (as am I, funnily enough). As with any makeover, it was time to look at things a little differently. What about looking at it like this?

1. Lightly sand and wipe cabinet clean so that spray primer affixes easily. Spray with primer and allow to dry completely. Using a level, mark where your decorative stripe will be located (if you choose to do one).

Primed Cabinet

2. Cover contrasting stripe with tape and spray the rest of the cabinet with the spray paint of your choice (a glossy finish looks great on a file cabinet). Allow to dry completely before removing tape.

Ready for Candy Apple Red

3. Cover the painted part of the cabinet with tape and/or newspapers to protect newly painted surface and paint contrasting stripes. Allow to dry completely before removing the tape.

Kind of like that Mustang I hope to own someday....

Now you’re ready to affix the cabinet to its rolling base:

5. Cut scrap wood to slightly smaller size than the base of the cabinet.

6. Measure casters to be affixed at equal intervals from each other along the board, approximately 2 inches from the edge of the board.

You know what they say: Measure twice...

7. Mark holes with pencil where each caster is to be screwed in and affix with a washer and machine screw.

You're on a roll!

8. Using a hand saw, cut your peg board to slightly smaller than each end of the cabinet and affix to the sides using the peg board hanging kit sold in stores.

Julia Child loved peg board in her kitchen..

9. Mount cabinet on rolling wooden platform and secure by inserting two screws on both ends, passing through the base of the cabinet and into the wood. You can also screw several pieces of peg board into the metal slats that separate each compartment for a neater look.

Suddenly, I can find things....

The possibility of tool configuration are endless..

And now we have a practical, sturdy (and moveable) garage storage! (You wouldn’t believe how many tools I discovered I didn’t know I had.) Take a look at the HGTV feature, Clever Uses for Everyday Items in the Garage and get inspired!

I love it..

If you think this is the most amazing post ever, then share! And if not, share anyway--it makes me happy!

WOW!! That is genius!!!!! PINNING FOR SURE!! Found you at UTTAD! I’d love if you linked this up to my party going on now! I’m your newest follower! Follow back if you’d like! ;) We love new bloggy friends!

Oh yes! This would be a fantastic gift for Dads..I’ve been so excited about corralling my tools that I hadn’t even thought about the gifting possibilities, but that would be FABULOUS! Thanks so much for the idea!

What a way to think outside the box! This is amazing and I am going to do it next weekend! I think I have 2 old filing cabinets so I might make one for s gift for someone!! Thanks so much for sharing this project.

This was an absolutely fab idea! I love to see such amazing, creative people & what wonderful ideas they come up with. I have poked around a bit & I adore your writing & your style. Congrats on the HGTV feature! That is so cool! Thank you for sharing your great ideas with us, amber

You are too sweet, Amber, thanks so much for stopping by to see me..and let me say, YOUR work is beautiful! I love the “His & Her” pillows, and your spray paint sign is terrific…beautifully done! Looking forward to keeping up with you!

What an awesome idea!!! Would have never thought it was a filing cabinet. I could use one of these in my shed. I’m stopping over from Centsational Girl. Glad I found your blog. Going to check out the rest now. :)

Hey there! I used simple machine screws to affix the wood base to the cabinet, you don’t necessarily need to have a metal drill bit to drill through the cabinet, but it does help (I didn’t have one). As long as the screw is long enough, it should work just fine.

By the way, I visited your blog and I loved reading about your visit to NYC….and the bathroom in your new house is sort of what I have in mind while I’m having to redo a bathroom in mine! Love the floor. I’m unapologetically retro and I love it. Thanks again for coming by to see me!

I saw this last week featured at a link party and was totally inspired. I was searching high and low for a way to house our outdoor tools and with no garage or shed it was extremely difficult. I’ll be posting my storage unit and I’ll be sure to backlink to yours. Thanks so much for the inspiration.

Thanks so much for the love! I can relate to the severe lack of motivation when it comes to the garage..it really was the last place I thought of beautifying in any way, but I have to say, this has gone a long way towards keeping me from getting hives every time I need to find a rake!

I found you via Roadkill Rescue and I am totally impressed. This if a fantastic idea… ingenious! I’m going to follow you around so I don’t miss anything else. You have an invite to stop by and visit anytime, Lori

I’ve come over via Be different act normal. Wow, what a great idea! How did you come up with that one? Love it. It has so many uses. Will have to share this one with my brother for his scraps of wood he has in his shed! Kym West Aussie

I’m not sure who’s more genius here, I just went to your blog and HOLY COW, your kitchen redo is AMAZING! Thanks so much for com in over to see me, I’ll be checking in with YOU often! (and I love the fact that Jane Fonda is hugger ;)

Clever idea My husband loved this idea so much that he is using his file cabinet to store his scrap wood pieces in. No more different sizes of wood laying all over in his workshop. and I have the drawers to plant my herb garden in. :} Colleen

[...] the {dry erase board I turned into a chalkboard}.) Then, not too long ago on Pinterest, I saw {this beauty} and knew that my old empty file cabinet could have a wonderful new life as garage [...]